Dragon Ball: Movie
by S-Shield
Summary: Goku, Bulma and Krillin battle the evil Piccolo and his Demon Army. My version of what the Hollywood Dragon Ball live action movie adaption should have been. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**UPDATE: **I've recently begun working on the sequel to this story. It's only one chapter so far. I went ahead and posted it, you can find it on my profile page.

_This is my attempt to show what I think a good movie based on Dragonball would be like and eventually leading into DragonBall Z. I'm not a fan of the ideas presented in Dragonball Evolution, mainly because I feel that, if you want to do a story THAT different from the original, you need to either call it something else, or write it as a fanfic. Just because the idea of Lord of the Rings set in the future might be interesting and new, that doesn't mean the movies should have done that instead. A movie based on a previous work needs to reflect that story in the best way possible, in my opinion.  
_

_I think a real DB movie should be an adaption of Toriyama's story, much in the same way the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies are. That doesn't mean you can't have original material. My story has quite a bit of original storylines. But at the end of the day, the characters are the same ones as in the original story. And I don't think that can be said about Dragonball Evolution. _

_Now, Dragonball is a very long story (even if you don't include DBZ). So in my idea for the movie, I've collapsed some of the major events of the series into a story that I think is pretty interesting, while still reflecting the original tone and intent without being a straight novelization of the manga. _

_Thanks for reading and I hope you find it worth your time to read the whole thing. I personally think the later chapters are better than the first, since in the beginning, I kind of have to novelize the manga just for continuity's sake. But as you can see with this chapter, I've included some new stuff as well. _

_Please be sure to leave a review. Just to let me know what you think. _

**Chapter 1**

The car wound its way along the side of the mountain, stirring up a cloud of dirt in its wake.

Finally coming to a rest, the driver stepped out and took a look around, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

She reached into her vest pocket and pulled out a small, round device. Pushing a button at the top, the screen came alive with radar of the surrounding area. At the center of the screen, a little icon labeled "2" blipped.

The girl glanced at the half-open bag in the passenger's seat, which contained two baseball-sized spheres that appeared to be made out of clear orange glass. Each one contained small points of light that resembled stars.

Looking back at her radar, she confirmed what she was after.

She replaced the radar, took out a small recording device and began to speak.

"Bulma here, log 7. I'm in grid point RX-124. The radar confirms my direction. The next Dragonball's not far."

She glanced over her shoulder at the way she had come, and her hand came to rest lightly on the gun at her side, in its holster.

"Whatever that thing was that was chasing me," she continued, "I think I lost it back in the canyon. Dad was right, that dynamite was handy. This is Bulma, signing off."

She took one last look around her and got back in the car.

"West," she said.

From a distance, her leaving was witnessed by a pair of cold, reptilian eyes. The creature decided to let his prey get just a little further ahead of him before he continued the chase. The safer she felt, the better the chance that she would lead him directly to what they were both after. The Dragonball.

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Goku screamed furiously as he leaped into the air, twisting his body in mid-jump to leave room for the long staff he kept strapped to his back and he passed between the trees.

"You won't escape me!" he called out. "I'll make you pay for what you've done!"

Goku kicked at the air as if someone was there.

"Pow," he said to himself. "I got you now!"

The small boy stood alone atop a hill. But in his mind's eye, he was facing off with a horrible monster.

"Grrr, you'll be sorry" Goku said in a deep growling voice meant to supply the monster's side of the dialogue.

"You're finished!" Goku shouted in his own voice again as he launched himself at his invisible opponent.

Unfortunately, in his over eagerness, he forgot that he was playing on a hill, and his attack carried him over the edge and sent him rolling down.

When he finally came to rest on the grass below, Goku sat upright and laughed to himself.

"I win," he said with a smile.

As Goku stood and dusted himself off, he noticed that the sky was turning red.

"It's getting late. Grandpa'll be mad if I stay out after dark."

Goku took off at a solid run towards his house.

"I'm kinda hungry, though," he said to himself. "Maybe I'll run into something on the way."

When Goku came within view of his small house, he noticed something odd. Outside it was what looked like another, smaller house, with wheels on it?

And from out of this little house came a person!

"Hey!" Goku hollered. "What are you doing here?"

The stranger whipped around and pulled a gun from her holster.

"Freeze!"

Goku didn't stop. "What are you doing here!?" he repeated.

The stranger fired a warning shot at Goku's feet, intent on halting his charge. Instead, Goku leapt into the air and kicked the gun from her hand, startling her so bad she fell over onto her butt.

"What the heck was that thing?" he asked once he'd landed. "And why did you attack me!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" his opponent called out. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were a kid. I've already been attacked once today and I didn't want to take a chance."

Goku glared at her for a moment, trying to decide if he believed her or not.

"Hey!" Goku remembered, "Why does your house have wheels on it?"

"What?" the other person replied, with a strange look on their face.

"Aren't you afraid it's just gonna roll away, someday?" Goku asked.

"This is car. People drive it places."

"_This_ is a car? I've only heard about them from my Grandpa. He said people in the city use them to get places in a hurry. Are you from the city, sir?"

"I am not a 'sir!' I'm a ma'am! Have you never seen a girl before either?"

Goku looked blankly at her for a second.

"No," he said. "Is that why you're all soft and weak? Cause you're a girl?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I suppose," she said, picking herself up off the ground. "Look kid, my name is Bulma, and you might not know this, but I'm kind of a big deal and, like you said, I'm in a real hurry, so is your 'Granddad' in?"

"Oh yeah, sure he's here," Goku replied cheerfully, the whole violent incident apparently forgotten. "Let me show you."

Goku lead Bulma into his one-room house and left the door open so as to let the light in.

"Here he is," he said, pointing to a little table that held a familiar-looking orange crystal ball.

Bulma stared in amazement.

"He doesn't talk that much after he died, but this was his prized possession, and he said that he'd always be here looking out for me."

Bulma knew that separating this kid from his family heirloom was going to be harder than she thought.

"What's your name, kid?" she sighed as she sat down, taking a moment to try and figure out how best to approach this.

"Me? I'm Goku. Nice to meet'cha!"

"Yeah, sure," she said, rubbing her hand where Goku had kicked her. "You're pretty strong for a little kid."

"Yeah," Goku beamed. "My Grandpa trained me to be tough as steel!"

"Was it just you and him up here?"

Goku nodded. "Yeah, ever since I was a baby."

"Well, here's the thing, Goku," Bulma said, treading as softly as she knew how. "I need to borrow your Grandpa's ball for a little while." .

"What! No way, he's my Grandpa. His spirit lives in that ball," Goku shouted, suddenly agitated again. "Get your own!"

Bulma sighed. "Okay, look, I'm going to show you something." She reached into her pack and pulled out her two balls, just like Goku's.

"What! More Grandpas?"

"They're called Dragonballs," Bulma said, rolling her eyes. "And there are actually seven of them total. And they're very special, and they've been hidden all over the world."

"Why are they called Dragonballs?" he asked.

"Because once you get all seven, a great big dragon comes out and grants you one wish."

Goku's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "A real live dragon? Like the kind in fairy tales and stuff?"

It was then Bulma knew how to play this.

"Yeah, that's right. Like a fairy tale" she continued, leaning forward to capture Goku's full attention.

"Turns out, there is this old, old legend that says once you get all seven Dragonballs, Shenron, the Eternal Dragon, will arise and grant you any wish you want." She paused for emphasis. "Is there anything you would wish for?"

Goku thought hard about it for a moment. "No," he said simply.

Someone who didn't want anything? That was a _first_ in Bulma's experience. This was looking grimmer and grimmer.

"I think just seeing a dragon would be cool enough," Goku spoke up again. "Maybe I'd ask him to fight me, just so I could see how strong he is."

"You like to fight tough guys?" she asked with a crafty look in her eye.

"Yeah! Me and Grandpa used to fight all the time, and he was really strong."

"Well you know, Goku, there are a lot of strong guys in the world, maybe some even stronger than your Granddad. And you'll never get to meet them just living up here on this lonely mountain."

"What do you mean?"

"What I'm saying is, why don't you, and your Grandpa of course, come help me look for the rest of the Dragonballs? You could see the whole big world and fight lots of strong guys."

Goku thought about it for a minute. "You mean like an adventure?" he asked.

"Exactly!"

Goku's eyes got a strange look in them for a moment. A wild look that Bulma recognized. It was one she saw in the mirror every time she thought about doing something crazy.

Before Goku could answer, a strange sound whistled through the air, followed by the intense heat and sound of an explosion.

From out the door, Bulma could just glimpse the remains of her car, reduced to a smoking ruin.

"My car!" she screamed.

"Look out!" Goku hollered as he grabbed Bulma around the waist with one arm and snatched up his dragon ball with the other and leapt out the door all in one fluid motion.

Just as they hit the ground outside, Goku's house erupted in flames like Bulma's car.

"What's going on?!" Bulma cried out.

From above them came the sound of leather wings flapping in the wind. Both she and Goku looked up to see a large creature, resembling a cross between a man and a pterodactyl, land several feet away.

"Oh great," Bulma said to herself.

"Yesss, you thought you had escaped me, didn't you?" the creature asked with a look of pure joy on its face.

"Hey!" Goku screamed at the monster. "You blew up my house!"

The beast looked at Goku and took note of the dragon ball in his hand.

"Yesss, thanks for leading me to the next dragon ball," it sneered.

"Bulma, who is this guy?"

"He's this monster that's been tracking me for a while. He's after the Dragonballs, too."

"Is he one of the tough guys you told me about?"

"No, Goku, you can't fight him, he's too strong! Not even dynamite could stop him. We have to run!"

"Yesss, run and give me the fun of chasing you one last time" the demon hissed, taking one step forward.

But before he could take another, he found Goku's foot planted right in his face. The demon was thrown to his back from the force of the attack.

"Bulma seems to think you're pretty strong, but I'm not so sure," Goku said with a wicked grin. "Wanna try again?"

"You brat! You dare mess with the Great Demon King and his Army!?"

"If they're strong, I'll take them all on!" Goku shouted.

"Fool," the monster hissed as he opened his mouth and released another fire ball like the one that had destroyed Goku's house.

Goku jumped straight up and dodged the attack. Drawing his staff, Goku lunged at the demon and connected, causing a loud crack as it hit the monster's head.

"You won't escape me!" Goku called out, trying not to smile at how much fun he was having. "I'll make you pay for what you've done!"

The demon tried to recover and take flight, but Goku followed, leaping into the air and throwing his staff for all it was worth. The demon's wing crumpled under the assault, knocking him to the ground again.

"You're finished!" Goku screamed as he landed feet first on the creature's stomach, finishing him off.

Bulma could only watch in amazement at Goku's feats of strength.

"Oh yeah," Goku said aloud, "this is so much more fun in real life."

Looking back at Bulma, Goku called out "If we meet any of these other demon guys, I hope they're stronger than this one!" .

Bulma's mouth opened wide with a grin as well as she looked at her new traveling companion. "I don't know, Goku. I don't think anyone is stronger than you!"

Oh yeah, Bulma thought to herself. This is going to work out just fine.

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The mayor looked up in terror at the monster that held him in his arm. Even though he was the most human-looking of the bunch, he seemed to be the most terrifying. The others called him Piccolo.

"I'll ask you again," Piccolo said. "Where is your treasury?"

"Okay, okay," the helpless mayor replied. "I'll give it to you."

Piccolo released the man, who led him to a portrait on the wall. The mayor removed the painting, revealing a vault, which he nervously tried to open.

Once it was, Piccolo pushed the man aside and reached in. When he pulled out his hand, it was holding an orange crystal ball, containing several red stars.

"We have it!" one of the Demon King's other children cried out. "The Master will be so pleased!"

"Yes, I will be," said a dark and sinister voice from the doorway.

This creature was the worst of all. He was man-shaped, like Piccolo, but his skin was rough like the others, almost covered in green scales.

"We have what we are after, my sons?" he asked.

"Yes, Great Lord Demon King," Piccolo replied as he knelt before his father.

As they turned to leave, the mayor spoke up.

"I gave you what you wanted," he cried. "You promised not to harm the city's people anymore, right?"

The Demon King turned. "Oh yes. I gave you my word," he said with a smile that turned the mayor's blood cold.

The Demon Army emerged from the castle into a world littered with dead bodies and destroyed buildings. As one, they all took flight and landed atop a large floating air-ship, which had an RR insignia on the side, denoting its previous owners.

As the ship pulled up away from the city, the Demon King looked down.

"What a pitiful infestation that has sprung up in my absence," he said.

Without warning, the Demon King raised his hand and threw down a massive fireball at the city, which transformed the whole of it into a hellish firestorm.

The other demons crowded around the edge of the ship, laughing with glee at their Lord's power, and at the dying humans beneath them.

One, however, did not join in on the revelry. Piccolo stood back from the rest, glaring with disapproval at the ease with which his father had broken his word and violently slaughtered the humans.

The Demon King led his family into the control center of the air ship, which contained a giant map of the entire world.

"We now have two of the Dragonballs," the Demon King announced, pointing to their position on the map.

"And last we heard from Tambourine, that female he stalked carried two Dragonballs, and was leading him to a third," said another, older looking demon.

"True, Piano. By now he should be moving to meet us at the rendezvous point, above the kingdom of the Ox-King," the Demon King surmised. "There are reports of yet another Dragonball, between him and the kingdom. I suppose he will attempt to take that one as well."

"Yes," Piano hissed. "A truly… industrious fellow, that Tambourine. But we have already dispatch Cymbal to that small village to claim its Dragonball."

"No matter," the Demon King smiled. "They will all be mine in the end anyway, regardless of who delivers them."

He turned to Piccolo.

"Have we begun preparations to take the Ox-Kingdom?"

"Yes, my lord," Piccolo reported. "The spies confirm the location of the Dragonball, and the castle's pitiful defenses."

"Good, good," the Demon King smiled again, turning his attention to the Dragonball in his hand, and removing another from his cloak.

"Two Dragonballs already in my possession. Four more on the way and one last one to claim in fire and blood. Very good. It was indeed kind of the Red Ribbon Army to supply us with their ship and research into the whereabouts of the balls, was it not?" he smiled.

"True" replied Piccolo. "Although I fear you left them little room to bargain."

"Do not forget, my lord," spoke up Piano, "that it was I who guarded your resting place for a century, and I who fooled the Red Ribbon into releasing you. Do not forget, my lord."

"Yes, I remember!" the Demon King barked. "You remind me every chance you get. Rest assured I am grateful that you were resourceful enough to survive my last defeat and plan for my return. But that is your duty as a demon!"

"Yes, my lord, yes," Piano cringed.

The Demon King returned his Dragonballs to their resting place and took one last look at the map of the "human" world.

"Yes," he growled with pleasure. "Soon I will have all seven, and then I will summon than infernal Dragon. He will grant my request. And then the whole of human civilization will bow and suffer before the all-powerful Demon Clan. And then we will wipe them from this Earth, and establish a new Empire of Blood and Terror! Bwahahahaha!"

The Demon King's terrible laughter echoed through the halls of the air-ship, spilling out over the side and coming to rest on the remains of his latest victims, as if attempting to prove the validity of the Demon King's words.

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S-Shield's notes.

Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think with a review. Good, bad or indifferent.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Goku and Bulma crouched on a small ledge, overlooking the smoking ruin that was once a village.

On the ground below them, it seemed the attackers had finally found what they were after. A group of demons similar to the one that attacked them surrounded a lone house while the occupants exited with their hands up in surrender.

Bulma could feel Goku tense up beside her. But she had warned him when they got here to not do anything until she told him, and she was glad she had done so. Goku may have been able to take out one demon, but she didn't know how well he could do against the five she saw now.

The lead monster, which was a good deal larger than the first one they had met, had both arms and wings, and a pair of wicked looking horns on its head. The others called him Cymbal.

"So," he began, "have you decided to cooperate and give us what we are after?"

The victims of the demons' attack were two older men, probably the village's elders.

"Fine, here it is" said one as he handed over a dragon ball.

"Damn," Bulma said, "too late."

"Not yet," Goku whispered. "We can still take it from them."

"No, we can't risk them finding our balls. Then we'd really be in trouble."

Cymbal took the man's orb and handed it off to one of his smaller brothers.

"Thank you," he smiled as he opened his mouth and released a fire ball that engulfed both men.

Just as Bulma was sure Goku was about to charge in blind rage, another voice shouted "Nooo!"

From behind one of the buildings emerged a young boy, about Goku's age and size. He was bald and looked to be a monk of some kind.

The boy rushed at the demon holding the dragon ball and snatched it from him. Instead of attacking, he just kept running.

"What!? Get him!" Cymbal screamed.

The other demons chased after the boy, cornering him between two buildings. Trapped with no other options, the boy struck back with surprising speed, and managed to take down two of his pursuers. The others all took a step back, unsure of what they were dealing with. No one had ever really fought back before.

"Fools, he's just a child," Cymbal roared. "I'll have him!"

Cymbal reared back to prepare another fireball.

That was all Goku could stand. He leaped from his hiding place and struck Cymbal in the side of the head, causing him to swallow his attack, which exploded in his mouth.

This was too much for the other, smaller demons, who took off running like scared children.

Goku looked over at the other fighter and helped him to his feet.

"I'm Goku, what's your name?"

The bald boy eyed him suspiciously for a moment.

"Krillin. And thanks."

"No problem," Goku said, suddenly all smiles. "I've had to take down another one of those things before. But you were doing pretty well without me."

"Why where you fighting the Demon Army" Krillin asked. "You're not from this village."

"They were trying to take my Grandpa's dragon ball, too."

Krillin looked down at the little ball in his hand.

"These things cause nothing but pain. I should just shatter it now before it can do any more damage!"

"Whoa, simmer down there kid," Bulma shouted as she slid down the side of the hill to join them. "I'd really rather you not do that!"

One look at Bulma, and Krillin instantly looked down, embarrassed at being yelled at by such a pretty girl. Bulma recognized that look.

"You're such a brave boy," she said with fake approval.

"Oh, well, it was nothing," Krillin mumbled into his chest.

"Well, if you really don't want that worthless old ball, you could just give it to me for safekeeping," she smiled her best smile.

"But Bulma," Goku spoke up, "I thought you said the dragon balls could grant any wish? Aren't they important?"

Bulma flashed Goku a look of grim anger, which Goku completely misread.

"Any wish," Krillin said to himself. "You mean I could bring the whole village back to life?"

"Um, yeah I guess that would be possible," Bulma trailed off.

"But I really could, right?! I could save everyone."

"Hey, yeah!" Goku shouted. "That's a great wish, right Bulma?"

"Well, I kind of had my own plans for the dragon balls," Bulma looked away, her turn to be embarrassed.

"What did you want them for, I never asked?"

"Well, there's this guy, I was kind of hoping, um"

"You just want the dragon balls to get some guy!" Krillin yelled.

"I hadn't made up my mind yet!" she screamed back. "At first I just collecting the balls for fun, and then I found out about the Demon Army. After that, I felt I had to keep the balls away from them, and what better way than to use the wish before they could?"

"But couldn't you just wish the bad guys away? You don't have to use the wish for a selfish reason," Goku offered.

"None of you will get that wish!" a growl sounded behind them.

All three turned to see Cymbal rising, soot all over his face from his misfire.

"Oh, crap!" Bulma said as she scurried behind a wall.

"Hmm, you're actually pretty tough," Goku appraised, "much tougher than the last one, with the wings."

"You mean Tambourine!?" Cymbal shouted. "There is no way a boy like you could kill one of the elite of the Demon Army!"

"What are we going to do?" Krillin asked with nervous look on his face.

"What else?" Goku smiled back. "We'll just have to beat him!"

Goku launched himself at Cymbal, drawing his staff and using it to ward off a blow. Goku ricocheted off the side of a building and took a swing, which was blocked by his opponent's tail.

Krillin watched in amazement as Goku and Cymbal battled. He had never seen anyone fight this well, not even an adult. Who was this kid? Cymbal was using his tail to great effect, sweeping it so that Goku couldn't stay on the ground for long.

Against anyone else, that would have been an effective strategy. But against the tiny Goku, who bounced around like a flea, and who was too small to strike, it was hopeless. No matter how big and strong the demon was, it was Goku who controlled this fight.

Goku punched Cymbal in the chest, and the monster flew back several feet, through the wall of a building. The already weak building collapsed on him.

"See," Goku said back to Krillin and Bulma, between deep breaths, "I win!"

"You did it again, Goku!" Bulma called.

"Yeah, but I'm getting pretty hungry now," Goku said as he started to sag a little bit.

"We'll have to find some food," Bulma said, looking around.

"I know where there's some," Krillin spoke up. "And there are a few cars the demons didn't blow up, so maybe we could take one of those to get the other dragon balls!"

"What!" Bulma cried. "Since when are you joining up with us?"

"Come on! I want to help avenge my village, and maybe even bring it back! I'm a good fighter, and I can protect you while your hiding and Goku's off fighting monsters."

"I was not hiding," she yelled.

"Look," Krillin said. "Where are you going next?"

Bulma gave the kid a sideways look. She didn't like having to baby sit. But she reached in her pocket and pulled out her radar anyway.

"To the south, I suppose. Over by Mt. Frypan."

Krillin's face turned gray. "Mt. Frypan? Were the Ox-King lives?"

"Why?" Goku asked.

"Because he's probably worse then the whole Demon Army!" Krillin exclaimed.

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S-Shield's Notes

So, now Krillin joins up, eh? And yes, I kind of borrowed the set up from when Gohan and Krillin met Dende in the Namek Saga, but it's a good set up, and again, it's an adaption.

Anyway, a little shorter this time. I figure if I keep it short and sweet, I won't get overwhelmed.

Thanks for reading, and please review.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Chichi ran as fast as she could.

But no matter how fast she ran, she couldn't escape the weird lizard-looking creature that was chasing her.

She looked over her shoulder and tripped. As the demon loomed over her, triumphant, she put both hands to her forehead, screaming as a beam of light fired from the jewel on her helmet.

The monster exploded.

Chichi panted and tried to climb back to her feet, but found she couldn't.

"Where do these things keep coming from?" she asked no one.

As if on cue, several more of the beasts appeared from out of nowhere and advanced on young girl. She tried frantically to fire another blast from her helmet, but it needed a minute to recharge between every attack. She was helpless.

A loud roar erupted from above her as a terrifically large man landed directly in front of her. He wore a golden helmet with ox-horns on either side.

"Daddy!" she cried.

The Ox-King plowed into the monsters that had stalked his daughter, tearing them to shreds with his great strength. It took him less than a minute to destroy 7 demons.

He took no damage.

Turning back to his daughter, the Ox-King lifted Chichi into his arms and began walking back to their home.

"Thank you, Daddy," the girl muttered as she quietly fell asleep in his arms, exhausted from her ordeal.

From a distance, Piccolo floated in the air watching the Ox-King withdraw.

"Not good," the demon said to himself. "He is far more powerful than we were lead to believe."

Piccolo turned and left to report this news to his master.

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"The Ox-King is the toughest, meanest, strongest guy in whole world!" Krillin shouted from the back seat of the car.

Bulma was driving while Goku and Krillin sat in the back seat. After a full meal, Goku had slept most of the way, with Krillin up front. But Bulma had gotten so tired of hearing him talk, she had exiled him to the back once Goku woke up.

"It doesn't matter," Bulma called back for what had to be the sixth time. "We're still going."

"But you don't understand," he continued. "The Ox-King didn't get to be a king because he's royalty. He just killed everyone in the castle one day and started living there. After that, everyone just called him King!"

"Huh, I bet he'd be fun to fight," Goku spoke up.

"Are you crazy!?" Krillin shouted.

"I bet he's not really that bad a guy, after all," Goku offered.

"How do you figure, Goku?" Bulma asked.

"Well, he's not like those demons. If he's human, he had to train to get stronger. That's the cool thing about fighting. Everyone is born weak, but then you can train and get as strong as you want. If he's that strong, he had to work really hard to get that way. If he's a hard worker, then he must be good, right?" Goku looked back and forth between the other two.

Krillin just stared at him. "How can you be so simple?"

"Cause he was raised in the woods," Bulma said.

"Bulma, are we there yet? I'm getting sick of just sitting back here," Goku said, changing the subject.

"What, do you want me to let you out so you can run alongside the car?" she asked.

Bulma drove with one hand while she reached into her pocket to pull out her radar. "Still a few more miles."

"How does that thing work, anyway?" Krillin asked.

"The radar? Well, I found that the dragon balls emit a kind of energy that is easily traceable, so I just built a radar to track them all down."

"You just built a radar device that could do that?" Krillin asked.

"Yeah. Oh, did I forget to tell you? I'm a genius," she smiled.

"What!?"

"Seriously," she continued. "My dad is one too. Dr. Briefs. He founded Capsule Corporation."

"You're dad is head of Capsule Corp?" Krillin asked. "That's crazy. So, if you are that rich, why are you looking for the dragon balls all on your own? Why not just hire people to find them for you?"

"Where's the fun in that?" she asked, with a wicked grin. It was the same look Goku had when he talked of fighting. "I found the first dragon ball in my parent's basement. I don't know where we got it from. But I did the research and found the whole legend of the dragon and the wishes and everything. I thought it would be a fun thing to do on a summer vacation."

"This is a typical summer vacation for you?" Krillin asked.

"Pretty much. I mean, I'm rich and super smart. Everything else is boring to me."

"What about you, Krillin. How did you get to be such a good fighter?" Goku asked.

"I could ask you the same thing. I'm a member of the Orinji Temple. They train us from birth to fight. When the Demons attack our village, the monks all went out to protect it. They did a pretty good job against the small fries, but they were no match for that big demon. After he showed up, we kids just did our best to hide. What's your story?"

"No story," Goku said cheerfully. "I just loved to train with my Grandpa. After he died, I just kept training."

"What was your Grandpa's name?" Krillin asked.

"Gohan."

"What! Son Gohan! He was one of the best tournament fighters in the world!" Krillin shouted.

"Yeah, even I've heard of him," Bulma said. "And that's saying something."

"So?" Goku asked.

"So?" Krillin replied. "Your Grandpa was the probably the only guy who could have taken out the Ox-King in a fair fight! People even said that they may have trained together, but Gohan disappeared years ago and no one asks the Ox-King any questions. No wonder you're so freakishly strong!"

"Hm," Bulma said. "Let's hope that's true. That could be our way in with the Ox-King. Maybe talk him into giving us his dragon ball without squashing us."

"I wonder if I could beat him in a fight," Goku asked out loud.

"Oh, god. We're going to die," Krillin moaned.

"Well, let's hope not," Bulma said, "because we're here."

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S-Shield's Notes

Okay, a bit of info-dump. But I figure any good movie is going to need some character development. And this was a chance to get everyone's back-stories out of the way at once.

Plus, I gave you a nice little fight up front. Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"WHAT!?" the Demon King bellowed with rage.

"What do you mean that both Tambourine and Cymbal have been defeated, and their Dragonballs stolen!?"

"I am sorry, my liege," said the small demon with the unenviable task of delivering bad news to the king of demons. "But when neither returned, we sent some scouts to find them. It seems that all they could find were their bodies."

The Demon King fumed for a moment, staring off into space. The little demon almost prayed that his master would forget all about his presence. From this day onward, if possible.

"How could it be?" the master asked no one. "Two elite of the Demon Clan, my best warriors, besides Piccolo of course. How?"

"But the good news, my lord," spoke Piccolo, as he entered the make-shift throne room, "is that whoever has the balls now is here, within the Ox-King's grounds."

"Here? Oh, that Ox-King must be behind this. The rumors say he's just a muscle-bound idiot, but clearly this is some plot by him to thwart our efforts! Fine, then if it is a war the Ox-King wants, a war he shall have!"

The Demon King rose from his throne as he proclaimed, "Send the entire Demon Army against the Kingdom of the Ox-King! He shall soon learn what true fear is, and the price of offending the Demon Clan!"

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"This is like a ghost-town," Bulma said, walking around the deserted village that rested in the shadow of the Ox-King's palace.

"The Demons must have been through here already," Krillin said, "just like my home."

"No, but that's the thing," Bulma countered, "This looks nothing like your village. Yours was torn to pieces. Nothing but ruins. This place is untouched. It's like everyone just got up and left."

"I don't know," Goku offered, "I think there are still people here. I can sense them."

"What do you mean, sense them?" Krillin asked.

"I can just, I don't know, feel people in these buildings. Almost like I can feel the heat from their bodies through the walls. Can't you guys do that?" he asked.

Bulma and Krillin stared at Goku for a moment, and then at each other.

"No, Goku," Bulma said, "we can't do that. No one can."

"Grandpa could, and so can I. You guys must be broken or something."

"Goku," Krillin started, "what planet are you from?"

"I don't know," Goku said, ignorant at having just been insulted. "I'm gonna go check over there," he said pointing at some buildings.

As he wandered off, Krillin walked over to Bulma.

"Seriously, I like Goku and everything, but do you ever get the feeling that there's a whole lot more to him than meets the eye?" he asked.

"Definitely," she replied. "But he's taken down two demons, so I'd say whatever he's got going on is working in our favor."

"Yeah, I guess," Krillin trailed off. "So, where is your dragon ball, huh? Can we just get it and get out of here?"

Before Bulma could answer, a large axe swung through the air between the two and buried itself in a wall with a tremendous THUD!

They both turned to set eyes on their worst nightmare. The thrower was an exceptionally large man, wearing a golden helmet with two horns on either side.

"So, you're after the dragon balls too! You sure don't look like no demons, but I'll split you anyway!"

"Oh god!" Bulma yelled as she tried to run, only to discover that her legs no longer worked.

Krillin fared a little better. His legs still worked, but for some reason they would only let him run around in circles.

The Ox-King advanced on the helpless pair. Each step was like the clap of thunder.

"Goku, HELP!" Bulma finally managed to call.

Suddenly, Goku sprang up from behind the beast-man and attacked! The Ox-King dodged the blow with a swiftness that belied his great size.

Confused, but not beaten, Goku tried again and flew at his opponent, focusing all his strength into one kick.

He bounced off the Ox-King like a rubber ball off the side of a house.

"Oww," Goku cried as he rubbed his head where it struck the ground. "That hurt!"

Goku tried to attack once again, only this time, the Ox-King struck back. He brought his hand down with such furious momentum and power that he blasted Goku clean through a wall, knocking him out.

Krillin and Bulma just gaped in amazement. Goku had been defeated. This was impossible.

"Aww," the large man growled as he rubbed the hand with which he struck down Goku. "What's the kid made out of? Hurt my damn hand on his head! Enough of you people!"

The Ox-King launched himself at the pair, intent of delivering the killing blow.

In a last ditch effort, Krillin screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Don't kill us, we're Son Gohan's grandsons!!"

Stopping in his tracks, the Ox-King's expression had changed from rage to confusion.

"You're Gohan's grandsons? All of ya?" he asked, looking Bulma up and down, noting her clearing female form.

"Um, well, yes," she replied gingerly. "I mean, ah, no. Not all of us. Just our friend, whom you just put through that wall."

"What? Gohan's boy?" the Ox-King ran to Goku's side and picked up his limp body.

"The staff!" he gasped, looking at the long red staff strapped to Goku's back. "It is Gohan's staff. Oh, no, what have I done?!"

Bulma dragged herself to her feet, and she and Krillin walked very carefully over to the man-mountain who was cradling their tiny friend.

"WHAAA!" The Ox-King blubbered like a child whose dog had died.

Krillin and Bulma couldn't believe their ears.

Within the deep folds of his arms, the Ox-King felt something stir. He looked down to see Goku open his eyes and try to turn his sore head from side to side.

"Man, you are tough," he said. "We should fight again later, when I've had some food," and then he passed out again.

"He's alive? He's alive! Oh, thank you, gods!" the Ox-King bellowed.

"Um, sir," Bulma stepped forward. "Could you maybe find a bed for our friend Goku to rest?"

"If that would please your lordship," Krillin finished, bowing.

"Of course, of course," he said. "We'll go to my castle right now."

He turned around and yelled over his shoulder, "It's okay, everybody! You can come out now!"

People slowly started to emerge from their houses and came over to see the small boy who had fought a giant.

"So, these guys aren't scared of you?" Krillin asked.

"Scared," said one of the townspeople. "Heck, no. The Ox-King protects us from all those monsters that've been creeping up lately."

"Wow, that's amazing," Bulma said, scratching her head.

"Come, let's go help your friend," the Ox-King hollered, and then he ran off for his castle.

Bulma and Krillin followed, just trying to keep up.

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S-Shield's Notes

Well, everyone is meeting up. Thanks for reading, and I hope I'll update sooner rather than later. Take care.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Piccolo floated over the village, noting the large amount of people gathered at the gates of the palace. This was odd, as the scouts had reported the townsfolk to be cowering in their homes.

Something must have happened recently.

As all the attention was focused on the large home of the Ox-King himself, Piccolo figured this was where he would find the information he was looking for.

He was astounded that no one spotted him. Clearly the guards and sentries were just as distracted as everyone else. This was almost too easy.

Piccolo moved from window to window, searching for signs of life. He eventually found the room he was looking for.

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Goku opened his eyes and became aware of the large bearded man hanging over him.

"Whaaa!" Goku called out from shock.

"Oh, thank heavens he's alive!" the big man shouted.

Goku found himself lying in a bed that could have fit ten more of him easily. Looking around, he found Bulma and Krillin, standing simultaneously near him and yet as far as they could get from the Ox-King.

Also in the room was a young dark-haired girl about his and Krillin's age, wearing a funky helmet. He found the way she was staring at him to be a little annoying.

"What happened?" Goku finally asked.

"What happened?!" the Ox-King exclaimed. "I damn-near took your head off, son. But you wasn't having none of it, eh? You really are Gohan's grandson. Look at you, you're practically better already!"

Goku blinked at the man.

"How did you know about Grandpa?" the boy asked.

"Your friends told me," he answered, pointing at Bulma and Krillin. "And I found this staff you was wearing."

The Ox-King held up Goku's staff.

"I remember when your granddaddy got this thing. The old master gave it to him for completing his training."

"Really?" Goku remarked. "You really did know my Grandpa?"

"Yep. We go way back. Trained under the same teacher. The old Turtle Hermit himself, Master Roshi."

"Roshi actually existed?!" Krillin hollered. "I thought he was just some legend, like a character in a fairy tale."

"Nope, he's real, alright. And the toughest trainer imaginable. You think I'm strong? He makes even me look like a drunk child."

Everyone mouth dropped at that, except for the little girl, who kept staring at Goku. He finally turned to her and asked "What?"

She looked around shyly, she was not aware that she had been staring.

"Um, it's just that, I've never met anyone who survived fighting Daddy before."

"Oh yeah, sorry" the Ox-King spoke up. "This here is my daughter, Chichi."

"Pleased to meet you," she bowed a little.

"Um, yeah. Hi," Bulma waved.

Krillin was too afraid of the Ox-King to make eye-contact with his daughter.

"Anyway, kid. I was sorry to hear about your granddad. Gohan was a great man."

"Yeah, but he's still with me. He watches me from my Dragonball."

"Aw, hell. Those dang Dragonballs have caused nothing but trouble! We gots demons and monsters crawling all over the place trying to get at it. Had a few try to get ahold of my little Chichi the other day!"

"Daddy took out like ten of those monsters at once!" Chichi exclaimed, both astonished and proud.

"Goku has taken down two of the big talking ones himself," Bulma spoke up.

"That's my boy," Ox-King grinned at Goku, before turning back to the conversation.

"But those demons are everywhere these days. First it was that fool Red Ribbon Army, and now this."

"Wait, the Red Ribbon Army? What have they got to do with this?" Bulma asked.

"They were the ones that showed up here first, asking for Daddy's dragon ball," Chichi answered. "But after a while the demons replaced them."

"Yeah, those Red Ribbon idiots were the ones that started all this. They was hunting for the dragon balls, and they found the Demon King instead."

"I can't believe this," Bulma trailed off.

"What is it?" Goku asked.

"The Red Ribbon is the worst criminal syndicate on the continent. I can't believe they were hunting the balls as well. I just have the worst timing."

"Well, word is they didn't find none of the balls, but they did find this strange little fellow. He said he could lead them to a power greater than the Dragonballs. But instead, he led them to the resting place of the Demon King. See, that little guy was a demon held over from the last time the Demon King tried to conquer the world. And he's been waiting all this time for someone powerful enough and stupid enough to release him."

"What is the Demon King?" Goku asked.

"He's a monster from beyond. A horrible green tyrant that fell outta the sky to try and turn the world into his own empire. He created an army of Demons to help him. And the only one that could stop him was mine and your grandpa's master, Roshi."

"So Roshi, the Demon King, and the Dragonballs," Krillin spoke up, "none of these things are legends after all. They all really exist and we're caught up right in the middle of it all."

The room was silent for a moment.

"Cool," Goku broke the silence.

Everyone starred at him.

"It _is_ just like a legend, monsters and dragons and giants. This is so cool!" He shouted, jumping out of the bed.

"Well, it won't be if those demons get their hands on the Dragonballs," the Ox-King replied. "And there is no way of knowing how many the Demon King has."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Bulma smiled as she over turned her pack, dropping three Dragonballs onto the bed.

Goku reached into his shirt and pulled out another.

"Four Dragonballs!" The Ox-King exclaimed. "With mine, that makes five! That's impossible. How did you get all those?"

"With this," Bulma reached into her pocket and pulled it out, "My Dragon Radar."

"That's amazing," the Ox-King reached into his armor and pulled out another ball. "There's no place safer in my kingdom than right up against me!"

"So we've got five, and from the looks of thing on my radar, the Demon King only has two! There's no way he'll be able to summon the Dragon now!" she exclaimed, sure in her victory.

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From outside the window, Piccolo sensed his moment had arrived!

All five of the remaining Dragonballs were in his grasp. Not only that, but the enemies of their Clan were right on the other side of that wall. Ready to be dealt with.

Piccolo moved away from the wall a bit and raised his hand to the sky. He released a fire ball into the air, the signal to his people to start the massacre of the Ox-Kingdom.

He then lowered his hand, and fired a powerful blast at the castle wall before him, reducing it to rubble and filling the room inside with fire and death.

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S-Shield's notes

Piccolo attacks. Next chapter, the whole Demon Army does as well!

Thanks for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Piccolo watched as the mountains of dust swirled past him, and the remains of the castle wall fell far below onto the scared human cattle. He had done his master's work. Now all the remained was to collect his prize. The five Dragonballs that would make their collection complete and allow them to summon the Eternal Dragon.

Moving towards the freshly made cavity in the wall, Piccolo's eye detected some slight movement within.

Suddenly, a very large bed erupted from the devastation and hurled itself at the green man.

Piccolo quickly shattered the heavy furniture with one swing of his hand. But beyond the splinters of wood, he saw a massive shadow rise and take the form of a man.

The Ox-King stood revealed, his armor in tatters as a result of Piccolo's attack. Crowded behind him, Piccolo could see the others, safe and sound. Clearly the Ox-King, who must have been even better than Piccolo thought, had heard the blast coming and protected his companions.

The large, and by now very angry, man pounced from the ruins of his castle and slammed into Piccolo with such force that both were dragged to the ground before the demon had a chance to react.

Goku and the others watched as the Ox-King carried them both down and through the roof of someone's home with a resounding thud.

"Daddy!" Chichi cried out as she ran to the edge of the hole.

"Stop!" Goku shouted as he grabbed her arm to keep her from leaping over the side.

"Let go of me!" she screamed, slapping Goku's hand away with a ferocity he'd never have expected.

She turned and dove off the edge after her father.

Goku peered after her and then looked back at the long and tedious stairs behind him leading to the ground.

Turning to Bulma and Krillin he said, "I think she's got the right idea." He smiled, and took a flying leap after the girl.

Bulma and Krillin were speechless for a moment. Then Bulma came to her senses and began hunting around the room for her Dragonballs, which were scattered in the explosion.

"Damn," she called. "Only three. Goku and the Ox-King must've held on to theirs. Jeez!" Looking at Krillin she hollered, "You're a big karate guy too, can you carry me down there like they did?"

Krillin looked over the edge and paled a bit. "Better take the stairs," he said with a defeated look on his face.

Far below, the battle raged on. The Ox-King, whose great size hid his enormous speed, recovered first and began pummeling his opponent. But Piccolo had no intention of submitting that easily.

His eyes glowed with fire as they released twin beams of white-hot energy that burned through the Ox-King's shoulder.

Screaming in pain and rage, the Ox-King fell off Piccolo, clutching his damaged arm.

Piccolo rose to his feet and stood above the fallen giant. He raised his hand and shaped it into a claw, intent on bringing it down to finish this fight.

Just then, another powerful beam of energy struck Piccolo in the back of the head. Dazzled for a moment, but still in one piece, he turned to face his new attackers.

"You're still alive?" Chichi starred. "No one's ever survived my helmet's blast."

"Away with you girl," Piccolo grumbled. "I don't fight children."

"Oh, but you'll fight me!" Goku screamed as he fell upon Piccolo with enough force to drive him to the ground.

Goku flipped off and landed between him and the wounded Ox-King, staff in hand.

"Bah, more children!" Piccolo growled.

"Nah, I'm no kid," Goku called. "I've already killed two of your ugly brothers! And you're next!"

Piccolo looked down at the bruise rising on his forearm from where Goku had struck him. It was possible that this boy did indeed have enough strength to dispatch his fellow demons.

But that would not be the case here.

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As Bulma and Krillin descended the stairs, Krillin caught sight of something out one of the windows.

Bulma yelled at him as he fell behind to investigate further, but he did not care.

Krillin's eyes where always sharper than most. Even among the most-skilled elders of his temple, he could discern things that others missed. More than that, Krillin was unlucky. For some reason, he was always the first to spot bad stuff that was about to happen. And it always fell to him to deliver the bad news. As Krillin looked out the window, he knew this was one of those times, again.

From where he stood, Krillin could see a flock of winged demons making their way towards the castle, followed closely behind by an enormous air-ship, marked on the side with an RR insignia.

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Goku and Piccolo fought.

Goku had never seen anyone move as fast as this demon did. It was almost impossible to keep up.

"Feeling weary, little man?" Piccolo asked. Despite his fierce demeanor, it seemed this demon was actually trying to keep true to his word. He had not once struck Goku, and was merely trying to get around him in an attempt to carve up the Ox-King.

"Stand still and fight me!" the young boy called. But wherever he struck, the demon was gone, almost as if he left an after-image of himself behind to distract the boy.

Goku finally had to climb onto the Ox-King's stomach to better protect him.

Goku closed his eyes and tried to feel his opponent, in the same way he had felt the hiding villagers earlier.

At first it was darkness. But slowly, he thought he caught glimpses of the demon's movements in his mind's eye. Goku made sure of it before striking again.

This time it was Piccolo's turn to be blinded by the speed with which Goku moved.

Goku kicked Piccolo hard in the face, snapping him out of his quick-moves. Not wasting a second, he followed it up with several rapid strikes to the demon's mid section before kicking him again, sending him hurtling backwards.

"Wow, Goku!" Chichi exclaimed. "It's like you've gotten even stronger since you fought with Dad!"

Goku looked down at his own fists and smiled. "Yeah, I think you're right!"

Piccolo's elbow suddenly planted itself in the side of Goku's neck, dropping him.

Piccolo picked him up by his throat and held him aloft in the air. The demon's tattered clothing matched the reckless fury in his eyes. Piccolo was about to abandon his rule about fighting children.

"Boy, I have had enough of you!"

Goku brought his staff up in one fluid motion and caught Piccolo under the chin. He followed this up by biting Piccolo's hand where he held him.

Piccolo stumbled and dropped Goku.

"Ha, like you said, I'm just a child, right?" Goku laughed through his ragged breath.

Suddenly, Bulma's voice cut through the air.

"They're coming!" she screamed. "The Demons are coming!"

Piccolo smirked. "That's right, the whole Demon Army is about to descend on this place, and all your fighting will be worthless!"

A loud roar sounded as the Ox-King leaped off the ground and plowed into the weakened Piccolo, sending him into a wall.

Turning back to Goku, the Ox-King shouted "Take my daughter and get out of here!"

"What?" Goku called back. "No. What do you mean, I think I was winning!"

"Take Chichi and run or I'll kill you myself. Now GO!"

As if to punctuate his sentence, the Ox-King reached into his cloak and pulled out his Dragonball, tossing it to Goku.

With that, the Ox-King took one last swing at Piccolo, driving him hard into the ground, and then took off for the stairs.

"Everybody, RUN!" he shouted at his people as he darted into the castle.

"Daddy, where are you going!?" Chichi hollered.

Goku looked up and saw a massive force of flying demons surrounding a giant air-ship.

The villagers saw it too, and they took off running as fast as they could. Bulma and Krillin ran to Goku and Chichi, unsure of what else to do after that.

Then, Bulma saw the Dragonball in Goku's hand.

"Sweet, you got what we came for! Let's get out of here!" Bulma yelled excitedly.

"What?" Goku replied. "We can't just leave him."

"Goku's right," Chichi hollered. "We have to help my Daddy!"

"Your 'Daddy' wanted you to be safe," Bulma reasoned. "Now let's do what he said and get the hell out of here!"

"Guys," Krillin interrupted. "What's that!?" he asked, pointing to the top of the castle.

From where they were standing, it was hard to see. But it looked as if the whole top layer of one of the castle's towers, from about where Piccolo blew it up was being lifted right off!

The Ox-King lifted the truly colossal piece of stone-work onto his already busted shoulder. Screaming with rage and focus, the impossible man hurled the whole thing at the army of demons.

Most just flew out of the way, making the Ox-King's attack seem pointless. Until the mountain of masonry collided with the side of the Demon King's airship!

The disabled ship staggered and rocked a moment, before finally plummeting in slow-motion towards the ground, taking out half of the castle with it in its devastating crash.

"Daddy!" Chichi screamed.

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S-Shield's Notes

Whew, that was a lot of action and excitement. I think I need to go lay down for a little while.

Thanks for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Goku, Bulma, Krillin and Chichi stood on a hilltop overlooking what remained of the Ox-King's castle and city. All around them milled the now-displaced villagers.

Bulma glanced over at Chichi, who was crying into her hands, while the others kept their distance.

The little girl hadn't wanted to leave her father when the Demon King's airship crashed into the castle. In fact, she would have darted into the collapsing structure if Goku hadn't knocked her unconscious and dragged her to safety.

Bulma almost chuckled to herself. While everyone was wasting time trying to reason with girl, Goku just cut through the crap. After living so long in isolation, Goku had little patience for society's ways, especially regarding gender roles.

When Chichi finally came to, she had almost tried to strangle Goku. But once the full enormity of the situation struck her, she finally just started to cry.

Bulma, on the other hand, made a quick mental count of the Dragonballs now in her possession. Five total. Not bad.

There was only one catch. She'd lost her Dragon Radar. She must have dropped it during the chaos of their escape.

So there was no telling where the last two Dragonballs could be. But really, with the Demon King and his army now dead, what was the rush? She could just build another one. It's not like she was short of Dragonballs to test on.

She almost smiled at her good fortune, until she once again noticed Chichi's sobs. Bulma thought about her own father, and how much she'd miss him if anything happened to him. Her heart, which was not made of stone, began to ache a little.

Krillin walked over to Goku, who stood at the edge of the cliff, starring at the devastation.

"He was some guy, huh?" Krillin asked, trying to make conversation.

Goku did not respond. He was lost in thought.

Suddenly, Goku turned and walked right up to Chichi.

"Chichi," he said, "I promise to get all the Dragonballs together and ask the Dragon to bring your dad back to life!"

"What!?" Bulma and Krillin both yelped.

Chichi looked up for the first time, her big round eyes still red from the tears.

"Can you, can you really do that?" she asked, punctuating her question with a little hiccup.

"I swear."

Bulma noticed how different Goku looked in that moment. His eyes, which were usually wide with childlike enthusiasm and curiosity, now displayed a solemn and determined gaze. His voice, his entire body language had changed.

Maybe Krillin was right, maybe there really was more to Goku than meets the eye.

But Chichi didn't see any of this. All she saw was a kind, strong boy promising to bring her Daddy back to her. A young boy who seemed to radiate both considerable power and infinite compassion at once.

Chichi leapt at Goku, wrapping her arms around him, sobbing "Thank you," over and over again.

"Whaa, hey get off of me!" Goku shouted, sounding like a normal little boy again, embarrassed by having girl cooties all over him. "Don't hang onto me like that!"

"I'm sorry" she sniffed, laughing as she stepped back. "Thank you," she said one last time.

"Yeah, no problem," Goku assured her while taking a step back himself, still afraid she might try to hug him again.

"Well, I hate to break up this little party," Bulma interjected, "but if want to find those other two balls, we're going to need to go down into that mess and find my radar."

"No," Goku stopped her. "We can't. I'm not sure those guys are really dead down there."

Everyone gasped at that. Was it really possible that not even that level of destruction had killed the Demon King?

"What do you mean, Goku?" Bulma asked.

"I can still feel… something down there. Something bad."

"Crap," Bulma said. "If we can't go get my old radar, I'm going to have to build a new one, and that's going to take time we haven't got. We're going to be sitting ducks with all these Dragonballs in our pocket. What are we going to do?"

"Maybe we could hide them?" Goku suggested.

"I know!" Chichi announced. "Why don't you take them to Master Roshi? He's really strong, and he can protect them for you!"

"Master Roshi!" Goku exclaimed. "The old man that taught my grandpa and your dad? You know where he is?"

"Yep, he lives on an island in the South Seas. Directly south of Papaya Island. It's a tiny island with a little house on it. We've been there before," the girl informed them all.

"Great, but how do we get there?" Bulma asked.

"My dad kept a small plane hidden in one of these caves in the hills behind us. We were supposed to use it in case we needed to escape from something bad like this!"

"I can fly a plane!" Bulma shouted happily. "But what are you going to do? Do you want to come with us?"

"No, I'm going to stay with my people. I have to help protect them, now that dad is, well, gone. I'll just show you where the plane is and tell you how to find Roshi."

"Sweet, let's just hope this old guy is tough enough to watch our butts!"

"Oh, he is," Chichi assured her. "He's even stronger than my dad!"

"Alright, let's go!" Bulma shouted.

As they all began walking for the hills, Chichi took Goku's hand, and held on to it tightly so he couldn't pull it away.

"Thanks again, Goku," she said as she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Goku groaned as he tried to wipe it off.

"You're pretty strong," he said once he noticed she wasn't letting go of his hand. "A lot stronger than Bulma, anyway."

"Yeah, my dad trained me. He wanted me to be able to take care of myself."

"That's cool, it sounds kind of like me and my Grandpa," he said.

As the two strolled off hand-in-hand, Krillin eyed both of them with a huffy look on his face. He thought back to when he first met Goku, when the young boy had suggested that they use the Dragonballs to restore _his_ village and its people.

Krillin couldn't help but wonder what happened to that plan. When it came down to it, which would Goku choose, his friend or the girl?

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The remains of the castle were like a graveyard. Not a sound could be heard, in stark contrast to the overpowering noise of earlier.

Piccolo crawled out from under the wreckage, and looked around. He saw lots of dead demons, crushed from the looks of it.

Something caught his eye as he approached the derelict airship. He stooped to pick it up as a huge flash erupted from the craft.

From out of a smooth hole in the side of the ship emerged the Demon King, with his robes all in place and his hands folded calmly behind his back.

Piccolo was aware that his father was irate. He could tell from the way the air trembled around him, despite his outwardly cool demeanor.

The Demon King advanced on him, with a murderous look in his eye. This was the first time Piccolo had ever seen that look directed at him.

"Well, my son. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Those that killed Tambourine and Cymbal were not working for the Ox-King. They only came here tracking his Dragonball. He gave it to them just before he laid waste to our airship, bringing their total up to five balls."

"Five, you say?" the elder demon responded, his voice laced with poison.

"Yes, my lord. But fear not, for I shall find them and take their Dragonballs."

"Oh, and how is that?"

"With this," Piccolo said, holding up the object he had discovered on the ground. "A most remarkable radar that tracks the Dragonballs' energy. This is how our enemies managed to stay one step ahead of us this whole time. This will lead me right to them."

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S-Shield's notes

Okay, so in the original version of chapter 1, the Demons had a radar too, that they stole from the Red Ribbon. But I got to thinking, here is a whole group of powerful demons, with all the resources you could want, and they keep getting punk'ed by a bunch of teenagers.

I thought it might make more sense for Bulma's Radar to be their ace in the hole. So I've gone back and gotten rid of those earlier references. That's the problem with releasing this one chapter at a time. If this were a book, I would have caught that before it was published.

Anyway, thanks for reading.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Piano reached his hand out of the hole blown by the Demon King, and tried in vain to pull himself up. The wizened little demon cursed his rank. This would not have been an issue for anyone but him. Most every other demon had wings, and was strong. But, on the other hand, they were stupid.

And Piano wasn't stupid.

High class demons like his Piccolo did not have wings, but they alone were gifted with the ability to freely move through the air without them. They were also gifted with a high degree of intelligence.

But Piccolo wasn't as smart as Piano.

No one was as smart as Piano. Still, despite all his brilliance, Piano was still stuck climbing out of the dirt with his own two hands, like some lowly beast.

But Piano was special. He knew that. He alone had survived his master's defeat, through sheer cunning and guile. He alone was smart enough to discover where his master's body had been sealed away, and he alone was patient enough to wait for some rich, yet stupid humans to aid him in releasing the Demon King.

Yes, Piano knew he was very special to his Lord. And in this too, Piano knew that to be special was to be alone.

Finally making his way out into the fresh air, the little demon looked around at the area. The airship had been ruined, but the Ox-King's castle had been destroyed, almost assuredly taking that oaf with it.

Standing some distance away, Piano spotted his master, the Demon King, standing calmly among the wreckage and dead bodies of his own people, his own children, staring at the night sky.

Once again, it looked like Piano alone had survived.

Piano ran to his master, anticipating the moment where he could announce that he had lived, that he had proved useful and resourceful yet again. Other demons might be strong, or more mobile. But he alone was a survivor. Like their master.

As Piano got close to the Demon King, but before he could say a word, his lord began to speak.

"What do you think of the stars, Piano?"

The small creature stopped and looked up, seeing nothing but emptiness and little dots of light. Nothing special.

"Once, long ago," the Demon King began, "there was a boy who fell from the stars. He burned for days and nights in the crater that had formed around him when he fell. And when he at last arose, he found himself alone, isolated in a land of bitter wind and cold. He would come to realize, in the years that followed, that that had been the happiest time of his life."

Piano wasn't sure what was going on here. His lord was not known for telling fairy tales.

"For when that boy left the land of his birth," he continued, "he fell into the hands of Man. A cruel and barbaric race, little more than wild animals pretending to be something greater than they are. And as the boy grew, he discovered every act of cruelty that mankind was capable of. He became sick at heart to think that this world was populated entirely by such beings.

"But as the boy grew, he grew strong. Everyday, his power increased, until he was at last able to wipe out entire settlements of humans with one swing of his hand. But it was not enough. He raised an entire army from his own blood, and set them to the task of ending humanity's reign on this planet.

"But it was never enough.

"Humans are not so different from cockroaches. No matter how many you exterminate, you can never get them all. They always return.

"And then, one day, after suffering defeat after defeat, the boy who had become a king learned about the Dragon. A Dragon who could grant any wish, if only seven crystal balls could be gathered to summon him.

"The king knew that when that day came, his wish would be a simple one. He would wish for the death of every single human being on the planet. He would wipe out the infestation with one word.

"And then at last, he could return to being alone.

Piano waited a moment to be sure his master was finished. When it seemed like he was, the diminutive demon spoke up, emboldened by his master's choice to share.

"Yes, yes, my lord," he said with great enthusiasm. "We shall destroy all the humans, and then we demons alone shall rule the Earth! Hahahaha!"

The Demon King looked back at the happy little demon, laughing and dancing, drunk on his master's undivided attention.

"You have always served me well, Piano. You are indeed special," he said.

Piano stopped his merrymaking and stared at his liege. His heart swelled with pride and joy. "Thank you," he started to say.

Coldly, the Demon King simply raised his hand and, from the tip of his finger, fired a small bolt of energy that pierced Piano's heart, killing him in an instant.

The Demon King left Piano's body to lie amongst his brothers.

"You are indeed special," he said, stone faced, "but where the Demon King walks, he walks alone."

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S-Shield's notes

End of interlude.

Thanks for reading.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Bulma had little difficulty piloting the small two-person sea-plane over the vast ocean. Luckily, both Goku and Krillin were so small, they only counted as one person.

Goku sat with his nose pressed against the window pane, drinking in the sight of endless water. Growing up in the mountains, he had never seen anything like this giant river before.

More than anything, Goku was thrilled to meet Master Roshi, the old timer who had taught both his grandpa Gohan and the Ox-King. Chichi had promised that Roshi was even stronger than her father, and the very thought made Goku's blood boil with anticipation. Goku loved meeting strong people.

Before they had left, Chichi told Goku to ask Roshi about something called the "Kamehameha." She said it was the one technique of Roshi's that her dad never mastered, but that Goku might need it in the coming battles.

Chichi had also pulled Bulma aside and warned her about Roshi for some reason Goku didn't understand. But then he never much understood when girls talked.

Krillin's sour disposition had eased the farther away they got from the Ox-King's village. But he was still concerned about how his role in this whole story would play out.

"Okay," Bulma said, "we passed Papaya Island some time back, according to the instruments, and the map Chichi gave us, it looks like we are on course. Now we just need to keep our eyes open for Roshi's house."

"Talk about a needle in a haystack," Krillin remarked. "We'll never find an island that small in all this water."

"There is it!" Goku said suddenly. "I think I found it!"

"Of course you did," Krillin sighed, rolling his eyes.

Bulma directed the plane over to the tiny speck of land. Touching down in the ocean and allowing the plane to surf up onto the beach, Bulma made a perfect landing.

"Ha, is there nothing I can't do?" she asked, with mock humility.

As they climbed out, they all took a good around at the truly insignificant island, complete with one palm tree and several lawn chairs. The house itself would have looked perfectly normal amid a suburban neighborhood. Of course, here it just looked comical.

"Do you think anybody's home?" Krillin asked. "You think they'd have heard us coming."

The group walked up to the door and, for lack of any better ideas, Bulma knocked on it.

No answer.

She knocked again.

"I don't know," she said, "maybe he's not home."

Goku reared back his hand and began pounding on the door, screaming "Hey, old timer! Wake up! Come on, you got company!!"

From their new positions buried in the sand, Bulma and Krillin thought they heard the sound of tumbling and crashing as someone hurriedly made their way through the house.

The front door flung open and an elderly man, bald with a long mustache and beard, and wearing a pair of sunglasses, stuck his head out. He looked very annoyed and was using one hand to hold up his pants, which apparently he hadn't had time to button.

"Cut it OUT!!" he screamed in Goku's face. "I'm on the toilet in here! I'm old. Give me a minute, JEEZ!"

He slammed the door in their faces and returned to what he was doing.

The three just lay there starring.

"Was that really the world's greatest hero?" Bulma asked, unsure if the trip had been worth it.

"Why was he wearing sunglasses on the toilet?" Krillin asked no one in particular.

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Piccolo flew so fast the air around him blistered with heat.

He took another glance at the strange radar device he had stolen from the humans.

It was almost funny, with the massive head start they had on him, it would have been impossible to find them, if not for their own technology.

They had used this contraption to track the Dragonballs, and now he was using it to track them.

He stopped in mid-flight. The radar now said that his adversaries had finally come to rest. A little 5 blinked on the screen.

But from where Piccolo hovered, he saw that he was very quickly running out of land. They must have gone out into the ocean, perhaps even underwater.

It mattered not. He would follow them to the ends of the Earth. He would find them, and their Dragonballs. He would restore his honor and make them pay.

Piccolo altered his direction slightly and quickly resumed the chase.

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"So, the Demon King has returned, eh?" Master Roshi asked.

After the old man had finished up with the task at hand, he had returned to the door, eager to inspect his new visitors and find out just what the hell they wanted.

So they told him, recounting the tale of how they had all met, of the fight with the Demons over the Dragonballs and, most importantly, the fact they now needed his help keeping them safe.

"And the old Ox is dead. What a shame. He was a good man. Dumb as a box of hammers, but still good," he trailed off.

Roshi looked down at the staff Goku had handed him as proof that he was Gohan's grandson. "And Gohan too? I can't believe I've outlived both my disciples."

He tossed the stick back to Goku and walked up to the edge of the beach, turning his gaze towards the ocean. The way the wind blew his beard, combined with the shadow the sun cast over his tired face, Roshi looked like a some great old king who had outlived his time.

"Poor guy," Bulma said.

"Oh, my dear, would you come over here for just a moment?" Roshi called back to the girl.

Bulma looked at Goku and Krillin. "He probably wants to discuss strategy or something," she offered.

Bulma joined the old man's side and he began whispering in her ear.

After a moment Bulma shouted "I most certainly will not, you dirty old man!" before punching him hard enough in the head to knock him over.

She stomped back over to the boys with a furious look on her face.

"Whoa, Bulma's tougher than the invincible old master," Krillin said. "Maybe we should have sent her up against the Demon King instead."

"What did he want?" Goku asked.

"Mine your own business!" she screeched at him. "I tell you, old wizards in fairy tales are nothing like this," she mumbled to herself.

"Goku, my boy," Roshi called out, standing again, gazing out over the water in a feeble attempt to reclaim his dignity. "Would you join me for a moment?"

Goku flashed a worried expression, but followed him anyway.

"So, you are Gohan's grandson?" Roshi asked.

"Um, yes sir."

"Well, it seems he taught you well. You've taken out a number of demons, from the sound of it. And you even survived a blow from the Ox-King. Very impressive."

Roshi turned down to look at Goku. "So, boy, the question is: Are you satisfied with your present strength? Or do you want to get even stronger?"

Goku's mouth cracked open into a huge smile, and his eyes narrowed. From where Roshi was standing, he looked like a wild animal. Perfect.

"Yeah," Goku replied. "I want to get lots stronger!"

"Very good," Roshi answered. "Tell me, what do you know of the Kamehameha?"

"Ox-King's daughter said that it was the one thing her dad never learned to do!"

"That's right. He had a powerful body, but a weak spirit. You, young fellow, you've got both. I think I might be able to teach you a thing or two."

"Really!" Goku shouted. He began dancing up and down in joy.

"But first, if the demons really are after you, we need to get the heck off this island and get to someplace safe," the old man announced.

"I'm not going anywhere with that guy," Bulma said.

"That's right," Krillin spoke up. "The air plane only carries two. There are too many of us."

"Oh, really," Roshi glanced around at the group. "Well then, Goku, I think I've figured out your first test."

He looked Goku straight in the eye and asked "How are you at riding clouds?"

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S-Shield's notes

Master Roshi arrives. Pretty much what you would have expected, right?

Thanks for reading.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

As Goku and his friends looked on quizzically, Master Roshi raised his hand to the sky and called out "NIMBUS!!"

After a moment's pause, wherein all concerned figured the old man had finally lost his mind, movement could be seen in the distance.

Miraculously, a small cloud soared into view and landed directly before the old master.

"The Flying Nimbus!" Roshi proudly proclaimed, as if that solved everyone's questions.

"What does it do?" Krillin asked.

"What does it do?" Roshi repeated. "You ride it, like a surf board in the sky. It's damn-near the fastest thing in the world! But you gotta be pure of heart to ride it. Observe!"

At that, Roshi hopped off the ground with all the grace of a professional athlete half his age, and promptly fell through the cloud with all the elegance of an elephant landing on a trampoline.

"My hip!" the old man screeched in pain from the ground.

"Pure heart, yeah right," Bulma whispered. "Explains everything."

Goku helped Roshi to his feet. "Must be broken," he figured.

Ignoring his words, Goku leapt atop the floating cloud and actually managed to stay on.

"Wow, this is so cool!" Goku shouted. "It's like standing on air!"

Amazed, both Krillin and Bulma tried simply laying their hands on the cloud, only to find they went through just like Roshi.

"Well, we all know what your problem is," Krillin said to Bulma, "but what did I do?"

"Hey!" Bulma yelled at him.

Just then, the cloud rocketed away from the pair, carrying Goku high into the sky.

The young boy whooped and hollered with delight as the flying cloud zoomed around in circles.

"I swear," Bulma said, "that kid gets more impressive by the minute."

"Very true," Roshi said rubbing his hip. "Well, if we're going, I need to pack."

"Hey wait," Krillin spoke up. "Don't I get anything?"

"What do you mean, do you get anything? You get to help me pack!"

Roshi wandered into the house and the young boy followed him, for lack of anything better to do.

Bulma took the opportunity to sit in the sand and have a quiet moment to herself. She stretched out and let the sun wash over her.

Inside the house, Roshi was filling a small suitcase with a number of items, everything from clothes to bedding, while Krillin looked on.

"So, my boy. You trained at the Orinji Temple, huh?"

"Yep," Krillin responded.

"Good people," the old man replied, distracted by his work.

"Hey, did you really defeat the Demon King all those years ago?" the boy asked.

"Indeed," Roshi replied, "back when I was young and healthy and had my hair. Well, not really. I could have had hair. I just shaved it because I was a fighter."

"Me too," Krillin exclaimed.

"Now I don't have a choice. But do me a favor and don't tell the girl, eh?"

"So, if you beat him, how come he came back?"

"Because, even back then, he was too strong for me. I had no option but to seal him away. I spent years after that hunting down all his servants and children. Figured I got them all. Looks like I was wrong, it happens."

"You don't seem too worried."

"Well, to tell you the truth, I'm counting a great deal on your little friend out there. All those things he did, at his age, I'm pretty sure with a little training he'll be even better than me."

"So you think Goku can beat the Demon King for real?"

"Yep."

Krillin thought about that for a minute.

"I want to help!" he announced.

"How's that?" Roshi asked.

"I want you to train me too. I lost everyone I care about to those demons, and no matter what you guys think, Goku can't handle this all on his own. So I want to help!"

"Well, of course you do. You got a good heart, like the boy out there. Well, maybe not as good, otherwise the cloud would have let you on, but still."

"You didn't do so well, either."

"Well, that Bulma girl was too close to me. I couldn't keep my thoughts pure," he said.

"Yeah, me neither," the boy admitted.

"Hey, hands off, she's mine!" Roshi pointed at Krillin, emphasizing his point.

"Well," Krillin looked off, "if Goku actually kills the Demon King, I wouldn't be surprised if she ran off with him."

"Oh, I hadn't thought about that!" Roshi exclaimed, suddenly worried. "Maybe I should rethink this whole thing."

After Roshi had packed and Goku was finally called down they set off. Bulma and Roshi rode in the plane while Krillin had no choice but to ride on Goku's back while Goku rode the Nimbus.

Bulma managed to keep the old man's hands off her by promising to crash the plane into the sea, killing them both, if he tried anything.

They eventually came to a much larger island that was covered in thick forests, surrounding a large mountain in the center. After landing, the group followed Roshi to a series of caves that peppered the mountainside.

"Why do we have to stay here?" Bulma complained. "Wouldn't it have made more sense to stay on the other island were we could see what was coming from every direction?"

"Not really," Roshi answered. "See, me and Goku, we can sense the presence of powerful evil without needing to see it. Staying out in the open like that only makes it easier for the bad guys to find us."

After setting up camp, the group finally started to relax. Roshi had forbidden Goku from flying around on Nimbus right now, in order to keep their position hidden, so Goku was lying on the cloud, floating only a few feet from the ground, while everyone else tried to get comfortable.

Bulma had managed to cannibalize parts from the plane's navigation system in an attempt to build a new dragon radar, but she didn't seem to be having much luck.

"So, Goku," Roshi asked after a while, "what are going to do with that wish of yours? Are you going to bring Gohan back to life?"

All three heads shot up as one.

"I could do that?" Goku asked. "I never thought about that! But I already promised the Ox-King's daughter that I'd bring him back."

"And you also promised to bring my village back," Krillin reminded him, finally getting it off his chest.

"Hey, I was the one who started this whole thing," Bulma chimed in. "Plus I'm over here building yet another radar, I think I should get some say in how those Dragonballs are used!"

Roshi looked back and forth between everybody. "Whoops, didn't mean to cause any problems," he drifted off.

Everyone got quiet after that. But for the rest of the day, Goku considered something he had never experienced before. Desire. Goku was not naturally a selfish being, but the very idea that he could bring his grandpa back to life caused him to weigh the value of his promises to the others.

Luckily, he never regretted making those promises; otherwise he might have fallen right through his new cloud.

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S-Shield's notes

There will be action next time, I promise. Pesky plot…


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Crap!" Bulma shouted as she threw her screwdriver in frustration.

Roshi looked up from the magazine he was reading and asked "Trouble, my dear?"

"I can't build a new radar with this bogus equipment. It's impossible, even for me!"

"Well, anything we can do to help?"

"I don't know," she answered. "Maybe if I could fly back home, I could get my blueprints and some decent materials. Of course, it would probably be faster if we just sent Goku on that super-cloud of his. Where is he, anyway?"

"I sent him and Krillin off to the other side of the island to catch some food. Those two had some stuff to get off their chests, anyhow."

"Great!" Bulma huffed.

"Maybe I can be of assistance," said a smooth dark voice from somewhere above them.

Roshi and Bulma looked up to see Piccolo descend out of the sky and land a few feet away.

"Demon!" Bulma shouted. "Kill it! Quick, kill it with your super-magic powers or something!"

Roshi calmly stood up and took a last puff on his cigarette. "How did you get here?" he asked. "I should have felt your presence."

"We demons of the higher order know how to suppress our power to move about more stealthily," the taller man said with a wicked smile.

"Then how did you find us in the first place?" Roshi asked.

"With this," Piccolo gloated, holding up Bulma's dragon radar.

"Oh, this is what she's been talking about all this time," Roshi said, suddenly behind Piccolo.

Piccolo looked down at his own hand, only to find it now empty. Spinning around he saw Roshi playing with the radar.

How could some old man move this fast?

Roshi dropped the radar to the ground, and stepped on it.

"NO! What the hell!?" Bulma shouted.

"A wasted move," Piccolo countered. "I no longer need it; I know you have all your Dragonballs with you, here on the island."

"Well," Roshi said, advancing on Piccolo, "I guess now all you have to do is take them."

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"You jerk!" Krillin shouted as he tried to kick Goku.

"I said I was sorry, alright!" Goku replied, dodging the move.

Roshi had sent the pair out to fetch dinner a while back, but the time alone together only made Krillin want to bring up the issue of what to do with the Dragonballs once they found them all. Since Goku didn't immediately answer that they should use them to bring Krillin's village back, Krillin felt he had no choice but to try and kick Goku in the face.

"I didn't say I was going to use them to bring my granddad back!" Goku tried to reason with his angry friend.

"Yeah, but you want to, don't you!" Krillin took another swing.

"Krillin, wait a minute. Stop!" he shouted, holding up his hands while looking in the other direction. "Something's wrong. I feel a powerful force over by the camp."

Krillin stopped and looked in the same direction, trying to discern what Goku did.

"I think it's a demon!" Goku hollered.

"NIMBUS!" he cried, as his small cloud whooshed in front of him. Grabbing Krillin by the arm, Goku jumped aboard it and took off for the campsite, dragging his friend the whole way.

When they arrived, Goku saw Master Roshi battling the demon that nearly beat him outside Ox-King's castle.

Goku would have thought of helping the old man, if he hadn't been doing so well.

Piccolo threw blow after blow at Roshi, who dodged every one. Occasionally, Roshi would throw a punch or kick, which Piccolo would shrug off.

Finally, Piccolo managed to plant a kick in Roshi's mid-section, sending the old man flying backwards. Roshi managed to catch himself and land without injury.

He felt the spot where he had been kicked and smiled.

"You know, you are actually pretty good," Roshi announced. "How about you come hang out with us and be a good guy instead?"

"WHAT!?" everyone shouted in surprise, no one more so than Piccolo himself.

"What are you talking about, you old fool?"

"I just mean that you are really strong, but that you don't seem to have much evil in your heart. You must be a pretty lousy demon."

"I am the Demon King's second in command!" Piccolo declared.

"Well, maybe on paper. But you don't much like killing, do you? Not a fan of harming innocent women and children? In fact, I bet the very sight makes your blood boil with rage," Roshi smiled.

"You know nothing!" the demon yelled.

"Oh, now, don't let it get you down. It's a good thing. See, you're not just a killer, you're a warrior. You have honor. You fight for pride. You don't want to help the Demon King; you just think you have to, since he created you. You think you don't have a choice."

Piccolo glared at the old man. He didn't like what he was hearing, yet he couldn't bring himself to silence the old man.

"But the thing is you do. Come with us, stop living in the darkness. It's much more fun out here in the sun. Life's better with friends."

Piccolo couldn't speak. The others watched on, as if the young demon might actually change his mind about what side to fight on.

"Is that true," the Demon King asked.

Everyone spun around to see him. He looked very much like Piccolo, but much larger. His skin was mottled with age, and looked almost like dragon scales itself. Goku could see what Roshi was talking about now. When compared with each other, Piccolo did look more like a strong, stoic warrior. But the Demon King, he looked like a blood-thirsty monster.

The Demon King's eyes came to rest on the old man.

"Roshi? Oh, the years have not been kind to you, my old friend."

"Friend!?" Goku asked.

"Yes, back when I first roamed this Earth as little more than a child, Roshi and I found each other. We trained together. Fought together. He was my only friend, until he betrayed me."

"I never betrayed you," Roshi said through gritted teeth, his easy manner now gone. "You betrayed yourself, and everyone else. You wanted to destroy everything, just because you couldn't have things your way. You're a selfish old monster."

Roshi turned to Piccolo and shouted, "Is this what you want to become? Is this who you want to be?!"

Piccolo looked back between both of them, unsure of himself for the first time in his life.

"Feh, you are still weak, Roshi. Just like you where back then. You didn't have the heart to kill me all those years ago, and now you're body no longer has the power to do so."

"You chose not to kill him?" Goku questioned.

"He was my friend. I hoped that he could change someday, and so I sealed him away."

"Well, do it again old man!" Bulma shouted.

"He can't," the Demon King announced. "For that, he would once again require the power of the Dragonballs!"

"You used the Dragonballs to seal the Demon King away before?" Goku asked.

"That's right. He stopped me from using their power back then, but he has only delayed me. Soon I will summon the Dragon and together we will put an end to all life on this planet! And then I will finally be alone again, at long last!"

"What?" Piccolo stammered. "But, father, you said that once the humans were dealt with, we would turn the planet into a paradise for our kind!"

"Silence, boy. Men are talking," the Demon King growled. "You came from my blood, and once you have served your purpose, you will return to the shadows from whence you came. Such is the fate of all your kind."

"What do you mean?"

The Demon King looked on Roshi once more. "While you, the only one who could have stopped me, are old and feeble."

"Oh, yeah?" Roshi asked. "Then watch this!"

Roshi tore off his shirt, revealing a body covered with scars and apparently withered by age. But as Roshi concentrated, his body seemed to grow. Muscle formed on top of muscle, and new veins of power appeared.

"I've been saving this for you, all these years!" Roshi explained. He began to bring his hands together at his sides.

"KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!!!!!" he shouted, throwing his hands forward.

An unstoppable tidal wave of liquid power rushed out of Roshi's body, completely swallowing up the Demon King.

Everyone else dove for cover, while Goku stood firm, drinking in the amazing sight.

As the thunder settled, and the dust cleared, Roshi could be seen, returned to his status as an old man, depleted.

But that wasn't all. The Demon King still stood as well. His clothes torn and skin shredded, to be sure, but he was still alive.

"But, how?" Roshi mumbled.

"That Ox-King actually did me a favor by killing off all my servants," the Demon King explained. "When I create a demon, I bequeath it part of my power. The act diminishes me. Raising an army left me quite weak. But once they were all dead, I reabsorbed their essence. I am almost, once again, at full power!"

The Demon King raised his hand and from it sent out a hellfire that consumed Roshi in an instant.

"NOOO!!" Goku screamed as he launched himself at the monster.

The Demon King simply dodged Goku's every attack, finally slapping him away.

"Annoying fly," he muttered before firing another blast at Goku, seemingly killing him as well.

"Goku!" Bulma screamed as she ran to him.

The Demon King snatched her up easily. He began rifling through her bag and, finding the Dragonballs, smiled.

"You are the one who built the radar device, correct?" he asked the shell-shocked girl. "You might prove useful," he announced as he took flight. "Come, Piccolo."

Piccolo took one last look at the corpse of the old man who tried to offer him a better way. And also at the small boy with so much strength. He sighed, and followed his master.

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S-Shield's notes

I like Roshi's speech. It's actually in the manga, although Roshi says it to Tien. Still, I think it sums up the philosophy of Dragonball pretty perfectly.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It all happened too fast.

Krillin was by no means a coward. But there was nothing he could do. It all just happened so fast.

Climbing to his feet, the young boy surveyed the carnage. Goku and Roshi were dead, killed by the Demon King's hellfire. Bulma had been abducted. The Dragonballs gone with her.

He was all that was left.

Krillin stumbled to Goku's body and wept over it. Sure, he was ticked at Goku there at the end. But in the same way brothers get angry with each other. He never wanted Goku dead.

It was all over.

And then a miracle happened. Goku coughed. His eyes opened a bit and he coughed some more.

Krillin freaked out. He quickly ran to get one of the water bottles and gave some to Goku, pouring it over his face to wake him up.

"My head really hurts," Goku said at last.

"Thank God you still have a head to hurt," Krillin laughed, flooded with relief. "But how did you survive?"

Goku sat up as well as he could, and reached into his shirt. From there, he carefully drew out his family's Dragonball.

"I told you my grandpa was watching over me," Goku smiled.

Krillin couldn't believe it. Goku's Dragonball had taken the brunt of the attack, acting as a shield for the young boy.

"Wait a minute!" Krillin yelped. "Do you know what this means? The Demon King doesn't have all the Dragonballs; he can't summon the Dragon and get his wish now!"

"Yeah," Goku replied, "but what's he going to do when he finds that out?"

"Oh, god, and he's got Bulma, too! He's going to kill her!"

Goku tried to stand up, but found his body was still too weak from the shock.

"Stay down, Goku!"

"No, I have to help Bulma," he said. Goku tried to call for his cloud, but it only came out as a whisper.

"Go… Goku?" a weak voice spoke.

Goku and Krillin looked over at the broken form of Master Roshi, who was trying desperately to reach his hand out to the pair.

"Roshi, too!?" Krillin asked, amazed.

"Old timer," Goku said as he slowly made his way to Roshi's side.

"Goku," the old man whispered. "You have to take my hand, son. You're the only one who can beat the Demon King now."

"But how? He's still too strong."

"Take my hand, Goku," Roshi said between gasps. "You've got a power in you, son, that you don't even know about yet. Take my hand, and I'll unlock it. You got to stop him!"

Goku took the old man's hand without hesitation. Roshi got quiet and closed his eyes. Goku feared the worst, until his hand began to burn. The feeling worked its way up his arm and spread throughout his entire body.

To Krillin's eyes, it looked as if steam was rising off the pair as Roshi performed whatever spell or technique this was.

Goku cried out in pain, as veins emerged on his forehead and arms. But he didn't let go.

Krillin could feel an enormous pressure, as the air shifted around the entire area.

Finally, Roshi released Goku and the boy fell backward.

"Goku?" Krillin approached. "Do you feel any different?"

"Sort of," Goku breathed heavy. "It feels like there is something inside me. Like an ocean of power, just welling up inside my body."

Goku glanced back at Roshi, and gasped. The old man lay there, his eyes open, but unblinking. He was dead. In his last act, he had attempted to give Goku the tools he required for this next fight.

Tears rolled down the boy's face as he suddenly screamed with rage and sorrow.

The ground itself began to crack and sink underneath his feet, as if his new power was so great, not even the Earth could resist its force.

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"Where is it!?" the Demon King shouted as he slapped Bulma across the face.

She fell to the ground in a heap, her vision blurred by the blow.

The Demon King had carried Bulma back to the mainland, right to the middle of South City. It appeared he had wanted an audience for when he summoned the Dragon. Or maybe he just wanted to watch as many humans as he could die.

But when he discovered that the bag only carried four balls, leaving him with a total of six, he grew so enraged that he scared off all the onlookers. Ironically, the deserted city looked as if he had already gotten his wish.

"Tell me!" he screamed as he shot a fireball over Bulma's head, destroying a building behind her.

Bulma raised herself up, wiping the blood from her mouth. She looked the Demon King right in the eye and smiled her wicked, crazy smile.

"Hehehe. Stupid freaking demon. Can't you even count?" she spat at him. "Find it yourself!"

"Rarghhh!" he roared as he drew back his fist, intent on squashing her like a bug.

Piccolo grabbed his father's wrist, staying his hand.

"What is this!?" the Demon King bellowed.

"This has gone on long enough, father," Piccolo answered.

"Boy, when I am through with you, you will beg for death!" the Demon King shouted as he struck out at his son.

Piccolo side-stepped the attack and kicked his father in the face.

"It doesn't have to be this way, father! You've become obsessed. Roshi was right, there is no honor in this! I won't let you kill every living thing on this planet!"

"Oh," the Demon King smirked. "And just how do you plan on stopping me?"

The two launched themselves at each other. Piccolo was very good, and he was very determined. But the conclusion of the fight had already been decided long ago. Now that the Demon King had taken in the power of the entire Demon Clan, it was like a child trying to bring down a brick wall with his bare hands.

In the end, the Demon King stood with his boot on Piccolo's neck, grinding his face into the dirt.

"You are worthless!" the Demon King sneered.

Just then, he felt as if he had been hit in the head with a boulder. When the Demon King arose, trying desperately to shake the blur out of his eyes, he gazed up at a small boy with messy hair and a staff strapped to his back.

"You?" he started. "But I killed you!"

"No," Goku replied, his usually kind expression gone, replaced with a look of intense blood lust that rivaled even the King of Demons. "But you have taken away a lot of people that I really cared about. And now I'm going to make you pay!"

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S-Shield's notes

Getting close to the finale. Thanks for reading.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Piccolo awoke, and felt as if his head was about to split open. The beating he took from the Demon King was so severe he found it difficult to lift himself up. But the sight that awaited him almost convinced the young demon that he was still unconscious.

The Demon King was on his hands and knees, having been forced to the ground by some unstoppable power. Yet the only opponent present was the young boy named Goku, who stood over the Demon King, almost towering over him if he hadn't been so short.

Piccolo couldn't believe his eyes. It seemed that not even death could conquer this child.

The Demon King rose, and dusted himself off. "Boy, you will live to regret that," he warned calmly.

"Well, you're half right," Goku allowed himself a wicked smirk, "I am going to live. But you? I'm not gonna let you hurt anyone, ever again."

The duo stared at each other, as silent seconds passed by that felt like an eternity.

Finally, the Demon King broke stance and charged Goku, bringing his hand down as if to chop the boy's head off with one swipe. Goku casually lifted his arm to block, stopping the Demon King's attack cold.

The Demon King's eyes widened in shock. His attacks had been avoided, dodged on occasion. A few people had even survived a direct hit. But no one had ever just stood there and taken his full power before now and not budged an inch.

"What are you?" he sneered.

"Let me show you," Goku replied, grabbing his opponent by the wrist and hauling him off his feet and over his own shoulder. Goku tossed the Demon King like a rag doll into a nearby building, the impact causing it to collapse on top of him.

From the rubble, a massive burst of fire erupted, freeing the monster. He stood there, his eyes on fire as the ground quaked and shattered under his feet. Faster than the eye could see, he dove at the boy and the two engaged in furious combat.

From the other side of the field, Bulma watched with amazement. How could that little boy she met not that long ago be doing battle with the King of all Demons, and winning?

"Hey."

Bulma looked up and saw Krillin standing over her.

"Come on, Goku's got him distracted, we need to go," he said.

"But how? How did you find us?" she asked.

"Roshi gave Goku a power-boost or something," Krillin said as he helped the girl to her feet and lead her away from the battlefield. "After that, I guess Goku's ability to sense people's presence got a lot stronger. He said he could practically smell the Demon King's stink from all the way across the ocean. We took the Nimbus cloud to get here."

"But, no, we have to go back and help him" Bulma protested.

Krillin chuckled. "I don't think we do. He's got it from here. I'm afraid we'd only get in his way."

Bulma took one last look over her shoulder at Goku, and she smiled. "Give him hell, kid."

Goku and the Demon King traded blows. It appeared that Demon King had somehow raised his power with that last explosion of anger. Or perhaps Goku had simply caught him by surprise with his first assault. Whatever the situation, the battle was now a lot less one-sided.

Goku's primary advantage was his speed and mobility. He was able to bounce around, avoiding strikes and hitting the Demon King far more often. Unfortunately, even though he was slower, when the fiery Demon King managed to land a hit, it did a lot more damage than Goku's attacks.

The Demon leapt into the sky, gaining control of the flames that surrounded his body and began raining down fire on his young adversary from a safe distance. Goku weaved and spun to avoid the falling fireballs, slowly but surely making his way to a nearby building.

From there, Goku began running up the very side of the structure until he was a little above the Demon King in height. He catapulted himself off the building and executed a perfect kick to the side of the Demon's head, the momentum of which carried him down and into the ground, creating a small crater with a large boom!

When Goku landed, he was breathing hard, but he was smiling.

The Demon King emerged, bleeding and cracked, but not broken.

"Tell me, boy. You did not have this kind of power before, so how did you survive my death-blow?"

Goku reached into his shirt and pulled out his Dragonball. "With this!"

The Demon King smiled. "So you had it? That's all I needed to know."

Suddenly, the Demon King disappeared from sight.

Goku tensed up, expecting to be attacked, like he had planned. He'd hoped that by showing off his Dragonball, he could lure the Demon King near him.

Unfortunately, the Demon King didn't go for him. He went for Piccolo.

"I couldn't find your other friend, but no matter," he smiled, holding his former servant's limp body in the air, gripping his whole head in the palm of his hand, "I know your type. You'll never let me kill this one after he tried to save the girl. Now, give me the ball!"

"Don't do it," Piccolo stuttered through broken lips. "He'll kill us all…"

"Silence, fool! No one is speaking to you!" the Demon King growled as he began crushing Piccolo's skull, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Stop!" Goku screamed. He knew he couldn't just hand over the Dragonball, completing the Demon King's set and damning the world. But he couldn't bring himself to watch Piccolo die, either.

In that split-second of hesitation, the Demon King struck!

As he had spoken, his free hand was quickly making weird and arcane gestures, creating a new spell. The Demon King shot his hand forward and from it emerged, not fire, but lightning.

When this lightning struck Goku's body, its power trapped him within its field. Goku was paralyzed.

The Demon King dropped Piccolo to the ground. He rushed over to Goku and plucked the Dragonball from the boy's ridged fingers.

"Bwa-bwahahahaha!" he laughed maniacally. "It's mine! At last, the world is finally mine!"

Looking down at Goku, he said "I should kill you now, but I'd rather you watch helplessly as I murder every living creature on this planet with your precious Dragonballs."

Goku tried as hard as he could, but the Demon King's magic prevented him from having any control over his muscles.

The Demon King sauntered over to the middle of the field and removed the remainder of the Dragonballs from his cloak. He dropped all seven on the ground before him and smiled.

"Dragon! I summon you forth! Arise, and grant my wish!"

The seven magic Dragonballs slowly began to glow and hum with power. The light and sound built to a massive yet almost pleasant crescendo. The sound of thunder crashed as the sky itself turned pitch black.

From the collection of orbs, a tower of light poured up into the sky, eventually curving under its own weight, going back up and around itself several times. The light finally hardened took on the shape of a long and fearsome looking dragon.

The Dragon lowered his head to address the one who had summoned him.

"REFLECT UPON YOUR DESIRES, MORTALS! FOR I SHALL GRANT ANY REQUEST, BUT ONLY ONE!"

"That is fine, for I have only one request. I wish for you to kill-"

"-The Demon King!" Krillin shouted.

"What!?" the Demon King spun around to see the small boy who had rejoined the fight.

"THAT I CANNOT DO!" The Dragon announced. "FOR HE AND I ARE CONNECTED IN SUCH A WAY, THAT IF I END HIS LIFE, I SHALL END MY OWN! MAKE ANOTHER WISH!"

"What!?" Krillin shouted.

A burst of laughter erupted from the Demon King. "So, the legends are true. There is another of my kind on this world, one with whom I share a powerful bond, and it was he who made you, Dragon. He who originally forged the Dragonballs. The last scion of the Dragon Clan. The Lost Namekian!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Krillin shouted. "Dragon, I wish for you to kill him!"

"You heard him, flea. It cannot be done. Now, away with you," the Demon King flicked a burst of fire at Krillin, sending him flying backwards.

"No, no, no, no. NooOOOOOO!!!" Goku screamed with rage, as he summoned every last drop of power he had. What was the point of all this power if he couldn't save his friends? If he couldn't save the world? What was the point!?

"You MONSTER!!!!" Goku shattered the bonds that held his power imprisoned, and he exploded at the Demon King.

When he was just a few feet away, Goku disappeared. He reappeared in three different places at once, and then six different places, and then ten, all surrounding the Demon King, who was so confused, he didn't know where to look, as he was struck from every angle under the sky.

Goku materialized in front of the Demon King and let fly with a flurry of rapid-fire punches to his mid-section and head, finally finishing off with a double-footed kick that sent the Demon King sprawling backwards.

Goku then drew both his hands together at his sides and called out, "KA-ME-HA-ME—"

The Demon King tried to right himself and erect a hastily-prepared fire screen for protection, but it was too little too late.

"—HAAAA!!!!!" Goku roared as he shot his hands forwards, releasing an unstoppable flow of liquid blue power that slammed into the Demon King, extinguishing his defenses.

The Demon King tried to block the on-rush of power with his own body, but there was no hope. He realized then that he was already dead the moment Goku broke free from his restraints.

"If you want to be all by yourself," Goku screamed, "then go away, and leave everybody else ALONE!!"

The Kamehameha tore at the Demon King, shattering his body as the force of Goku's rage broke his spirit. The over-powering blue wave erased any and all traces of the Demon King from existence.

In the aftermath, the dust settled and Goku's breathing returned to normal. The look in his eye gradually faded from ruthlessness, and the kind boy reappeared.

Goku ran to his friend Krillin, and was rewarded to find that he was still alive, although badly injured. Bulma ran up to them both as well, attempting to aid the small boy.

"Goku," she said "that was brilliant!"

A noise from behind them startled the pair, and Piccolo, who had climbed to his feet, approached the Dragon.

"Oh, crap!" Bulma whispered.

"Dragon!" Piccolo called out. "Why are we not both dead, if we are each tied to the Demon King?"

"IT WOULD SEEM," the Dragon answered, "THAT WHEN YOU TOOK ACTION AGAINST YOUR MASTER, YOU FREED YOURSELF FROM HIS SHADOW. YOU BECAME YOUR OWN BEING, AND YOU GAINED YOUR OWN LIFE."

"And as for yourself?" Piccolo asked.

"WHEN GOKU KILLED THE DEMON KING, THE CONNECTION BINDING HIM TO ME WAS SEVERED, AND IT WOULD SEEM, THAT CONNECTION WAS TRANSFERRED TO YOU!"

"So, you are saying that if I die, you die?" Piccolo laughed grimly to himself. "Very well."

Piccolo looked over at Goku. "You fought well today. But do not be mistaken. We are not allies. I will have this world for my own kingdom. But I prefer to have filled with life."

Goku and Piccolo smiled at each other.

"Next time we meet, Goku, we will be enemies again!" And at that, Piccolo rose wearily into the sky and flew off.

"You bet, Piccolo," Goku said. "Get really strong before then. I want another fight that good."

"You're just going to let him get away?" Bulma questioned him. "After all that!?"

"You heard him," Goku said. "If he dies, then the Dragon dies and the Dragonballs disappear forever. We can't have that. Besides, Roshi was right about him, he's a pretty good guy after all."

"Well, the Dragon's here now. You take the wish, Goku, you've earned it," she smiled.

"Goku," Krillin wheezed as he tried to lift himself up. "Ask for your grandfather back! It's okay."

Goku looked at Krillin.

"But what about the Ox-King, and Roshi?" Bulma asked.

Goku didn't even take a minute to consider. He turned to the Dragon and hollered, "Dragon, I wish for you to bring back to life everyone killed by the Demon King and his Demon Army!

"You can do that, right?" Goku added a second later.

"EASILY," the Dragon confirmed, as his eyes began to glow red.

In the mountains, Chichi heard what sounded like a rock slide coming up the hill. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw her father, the Ox-King, running toward her.

"Daddy!" she yelled as she jumped into his arms.

As the Ox-King cradled his daughter, he looked up into the sky. "Thanks, little man," he said aloud.

In the village surrounding the Orinji Temple, people began waking up as if from a bad dream.

The Mayor looked out his window as his citizens came back to life. He walked over to the safe in the wall and closed it shut.

And on Roshi's island, the old master bent down and picked his sunglasses up off the ground. He dusted them off and placed them back on his head. "Way to go, my boy, way to go. Oh yes, this is quite a generation coming up now," he smiled.

"YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED," the Dragon announced.

Goku smiled.

"But wait," Bulma spoke up, addressing the Dragon. "What did you mean before about you and the Demon King having some kind of connection? And who is the other member of his people he was talking about. Who made you?"

"I AM SORRY. I CAN ONLY GRANT ONE REQUEST AT A TIME," the Dragon said. "FARE YOU WELL!"

There was an explosion of light and the Dragon vanished. The Dragonballs slowly rose into the sky and blasted away from each other, scattering to the four corners of the Earth. Waiting to be found again.

"Goku," Krillin said. "Your wish, it didn't bring your grandpa back to life, did it? Then why?"

Goku thought about it for a second. "I realized that I didn't need a wish to bring him back. He never left. He's been watching out for me this whole time," he said, as he touched the burn mark on his shirt where the Dragonball had protected him. "Thanks, Gramps!" Goku whispered.

"Well, what now?" Bulma asked.

"I'm going to go check on Chichi and the Ox-King," Goku said. "And then I'm going to go find the old timer and see if he won't train me up some."

"I really doubt he has anything left to teach you," Bulma suggested.

"Oh, now don't say that. I want to get even stronger!" Goku whined.

"What about you, Krillin," he asked. "You wanna come with me?"

"I need to get to a hospital first," Krillin said, climbing to his feet. "And then I want to go see my village. After that, I'll come join you."

"Cool. Well then, later, you guys. NIMBUS!!" Goku called out, jumping onto his flying cloud.

"Is this it, Goku?" Bulma asked. "Is this the end?"

"No way," Goku said. "Nothing ever ends. There's always something new to see and new people to meet. I can't wait!"

And with that, Goku turned and flew off into the sky, leaving Bulma and Krillin to wave their thanks and goodbyes at him.

Goku rode the Nimbus Cloud higher and higher, taking in more and more of the world around him. Goku wanted to see it all.

"Come on, Gramps," he said as he reached over to touch the staff on his back. "Let's go see what else there is out there! LET'S GO!!!!"

The young boy flew off, the wind carrying on his cry for adventure.

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S-Shield's notes

The End.

I hope you enjoyed my attempt at a Dragonball movie. I think I touched on all the things that make Dragonball what it is. Or at least, I touched on all the things that make it important to me.

I still haven't seen _Dragonball Evolution_ yet, even though it has come out here in the States. Some of my friends say it's really not that bad, and maybe they're right. I would be thrilled if it got just a handful of people to pick up the original manga series.

In the last chapter of the Manga, there is a line from Toriyama that says "From now on you'll have to see into their world with your own eyes." That's something I've tried to do here, see into their world through my own eyes. I hope you enjoyed some of the changes I made, and some of the new connections. At the very least, I hope it surprised you, and kept things more interesting.

Thank you so much, those of you who read the whole thing all the way through, every day. I hope you feel this was worth your time.

This is the longest story I've ever written, and now it's done. But as I write this, I keep coming up with new things for the next "movie." Maybe just one more Dragon Ball movie before handing it off the DBZ. I still need to introduce Yamcha and Tien. And then there's the issue with the creator of the Dragon Balls. And I bet the Red Ribbon still has something to say, what with all their Android warriors. Something to think on. But for now, I need a break.

Please, let me know what you thought about this. Good, bad or ugly. Thanks again, and take care.

**UPDATE: **I've begun working on the sequel to this story, _Dragon Ball: Movie 2_, and I've posted the first chapter.


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